Travel Environment Control

ABSTRACT

A system and method for controlling the travel environment for a passenger are described, in which passenger data is obtained from an existing source of stored data, the stored data including information on the passenger&#39;s itinerary. One or more sensor inputs are received, providing information on the physiological state of the passenger and/or environmental conditions in the vicinity of the passenger. One or more outputs are provided to control the passenger&#39;s travel environment based on the passenger data and the one or more sensor inputs. A system and method of dynamic travel event scheduling is also described, in which a dynamic event schedule is generate based on the retrieved data, the dynamic event schedule including at least one event associated with at least one action output.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.15/128,946, filed Sep. 23, 2016, which is a national phase entry ofPCT/GB2015/050882 filed Mar. 24, 2015, which claims priority to GB1405201.3, filed Mar. 24, 2014, each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to systems and methods for controlling atravel environment, such as for example in an aircraft cabin, so thatthe travel environment is personalised to the individual passenger.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the field of passenger travel, various measures have been introducedto improve comfort and convenience for the passenger, such as byallowing the seat to be modified between different positions asdisclosed for example in WO-A-2007/072045 and WO-A-2009/066054. Variousalternative measures for improving the passenger environment have beenstudied in the SEAT (Smart tEchnologies for stress free Air Travel)project. It is also known from U.S. Pat. No. 7,878,586 to store userprofile data to control the environment automatically, although it isnot known whether these proposals have ever been put into operation.

One aim of controlling the travel environment has been to alleviatetravel fatigue, also commonly referred to as ‘jet lag’, for example bycontrolling lighting within an aircraft cabin. Jet lag may also beaddressed by controlling a passenger's sleep, eating and exercisepatterns. Mobile apps, such as ‘Jet Lag Fighter’ from Virgin Atlantic,allow the user to enter personal data such as age, gender and healthstatus, and provide a personalised programme to alleviate jet lag.

What is desired is a system that facilitates greater efficiencies withinthe aircraft travel environment and enables improved control andpersonalisation of the passenger's travel environment, in particular forenhanced passenger wellness and wellbeing when flying.

STATEMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention are set out in the accompanying claims.

According to one aspect, there is provided a system for controlling thetravel environment for a passenger, in which passenger data is obtainedfrom an existing source of customer data rather than requiring thepassenger to enter their data manually. The customer data may includeinformation on the passenger's travel itinerary. Additionally, one ormore sensor inputs may provide information on the environmentalconditions in the vicinity of the passenger. On the basis of thecustomer data and the sensor input(s), the system provides one or moreoutputs to improve the passenger's travel environment or experience.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the presentinvention provides a system for dynamic travel event scheduling, inwhich stored data including information relating to a passenger'sitinerary is retrieved, the itinerary including at least one scheduledjourney. The system generates a dynamic event schedule based on theretrieved data, the dynamic event schedule including at least one eventassociated with at least one action output. One or more sensor inputsare received, providing information on the physiological state of thepassenger and/or environmental conditions in the vicinity of thepassenger. In response, the system identifies one or more affectedevents of the dynamic event schedule based on the received sensorinputs, and provides one or more action outputs to control thepassenger's travel environment based on the at least one event.

The outputs to control the passenger's travel environment may comprisesone or more of signals to control one or more properties of a passengerseat, and control lighting and/or air conditioning above and/or aroundthe passenger's seat.

The at least one event may be selected from a set of predefined eventsincluding: sleep, wake, stretch, exercise, eat, drink, stay awake, andengage in-flight entertainment. The sleep and wake events may beassociated with respective action outputs to automatically control arecline position of the passenger's seat and a lighting level above oraround the passenger's seat.

Each scheduled events may be associated with a respective timingparameter and wherein the system is further operable to update thetravel path data by adjusting respective timing parameters of the one ormore affected events.

The retrieved data may also include information relating to at least oneof the passenger's personal preferences, an in-flight meal schedule, andan automated cabin lighting schedule.

The system may be further operable to generate data defining a dynamicevent schedule is further operable to generate auxiliary data for anevent defining the associated action output. A new event for the dynamicevent schedule may be determined based on the received sensor inputs.The system may be further operable to output the travel path data as aninteractive interface.

The sensor inputs may be received from one or more of: a temperaturesensor, a lighting sensor, a humidity sensor, a body movement sensor, asleep phase sensor, an eye movement sensor, a heart rate sensor, a bodytemperature sensor, and an ingestible sensor.

In other aspects, there are provided methods of operating the systems asdescribed above. In another aspect, there is provided a computer programcomprising machine readable instructions stored thereon arranged tocause a programmable device to become configured as the systems asdescribed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described, purely byway of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a seating unit to which the system maybe applied.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a mobile device for use in the embodimentsof the invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating the processing modules of themobile device of FIG. 3 according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a server according to an alternativeembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6, which comprises FIGS. 6A and 6B, is a flow diagram illustratingprocessing steps performed by the mobile device of FIG. 4 according toan embodiment.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates an example of an initial view of aninteractive travel path displayed by the mobile device.

FIG. 8, which comprises FIGS. 8A and 8B, schematically illustrates anexample of a detailed view of the interactive travel path in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a diagram of an example of a computer system for use inembodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows schematically the elements of a travel environment controlsystem in an embodiment of the invention that relates to commercial airtravel. Aspects of the invention may be applicable to other travelenvironments, such as trains, cars, buses, etc. At least some of theelements are optional, at least for certain applications.

In this embodiment, an automated system accesses customer data andenvironmental data relating to the local environment of a passenger, forexample from sensors. On the basis of these inputs, the system is ableto control the local environment according to the specific requirementsof the passenger and the properties of the local environment. The systemis also able to determine an event timeline for the passenger's optimalwellness, indicating events along the timeline and associated timingaspects, and dynamically adjust the event timeline in response topassenger and environment data from the sensors. The events may defineautomated control of the local environment. Specific examples andapplications will be described below.

In the system 1 shown in FIG. 1, a server 3, located on board anaircraft, is in communication with one or more in-cabin networks 5,which connect the server 3 to a passenger's mobile device 7 running atravel app 9, one or more sensors 11, a seat controller 13 and anenvironment controller 15. An IFE (In-Flight Entertainment) unit 17 mayalso be connected to the server 3. The in-cabin network 5 may be a wiredor wireless network, and may include one or more ad-hoc data connectionsbetween nodes in the network, such as the server 3 and the passenger'smobile device 7. The server 3 may also be in communication with a crewmobile device 19 via the in-cabin network(s) 5. The crew mobile device19 may run a crew app 21, as described in more detail below. As anotherexample, the in-cabin network 5 may include a mesh network, as is knownin the art, with mesh nodes formed by one or more of the passenger'smobile device 7 and the crew mobile devices 19, as well as sensors 11,seat controllers 13 and environment controllers 15 adapted for ad-hocnetwork connectivity. It will be appreciated that such a mesh networkcan typically also include one or more mesh routers that forward data toand from one or more gateways, which may optionally be connected to theInternet.

The server 3 has access to customer data 23 and flight data 25, forexample from one or more local databases and/or remote databases 26accessible via one or more external data networks 28, such as theInternet. The customer data 23 may comprise customer biometric detailssuch as age, gender, height, weight, etc., health status, and personalpreferences, such as dietary requirements, sleeping habits etc. Thecustomer data 23 may be provided by customer input, for example within atravel app 9 running on a passenger's mobile device 7 or via a web-basedinterface, or may be provided from a user profile within another servicewith which the user is registered, such as a social network. Thecustomer data 23 may also comprise location data relating to the currentor last-known geographical location of the passenger or the passenger'smobile device 7, for example from location tracking information receivedfrom the passenger's mobile device 7. Instead or additionally, thecustomer data 23 and flight data 25 may be stored in the passengerpassenger's mobile device 7, and may be updated when the travel app 9 isconnected to the server 3.

The flight data 25 is linked to the customer data 23 and includes datarelating to flights that the customer has booked, checked in for, orboarded. The flight data 25 includes the timing and duration of theflight, as well as the departure and arrival points of the flight, andinformation of any connecting flights. The flight data 25 may alsoinclude information associated with in-flight aspects, such as mealand/or cabin lighting schedules for the specific flight, as well asinformation associated with offers for the customer, such as availableflight upgrades.

In this embodiment, the travel app 9 on the passenger's mobile device 7generates and outputs a dynamic event timeline based on the customerdata 23 and flight data 25, and enables passenger interaction with thedynamic event timeline. The travel app 9 can also output control signalsor messages to the seat controller 13, the environment controller 15and/or the crew mobile device 19 and crew app 21. Alternatively oradditionally, the server 3 may be configured to generate data associatedwith the dynamic event timeline based on the customer data 23 and flightdata 25, and to transmit the generated data to the passenger's mobiledevice 7 for display by the travel app 9. The travel app 9 may beconfigured to run in the background, to collect and provide informationto the server 3 on an ongoing basis, and to receive and process pushupdates and event triggers from the server 3.

The seat controller 13 may automatically control, without direct userinput, one or more properties of a passenger seat 31, for example asshown in FIG. 2. In this example, the passenger seat 31 comprises areclinable seat back 33 and a seat pan 35 that moves forward as the seatback 33 reclines, under the control of the seat controller 13. Arm rests35 a, 35 b may drop as the seat reclines, again under the control of theseat controller 13. A foot rest 37 may drop or be adjustable, under thecontrol of the seat controller 13. The seat may be contained within ahousing 39, and separated from adjacent seats by a retractable privacyscreen 41, both of which afford a degree of privacy to the passenger.The IFE unit 17 is provided adjacent the seat 31.

The environment controller 15 may control the environment around thepassenger, for example by controlling lighting 43 and/or airconditioning 45 above and/or around the passenger's seat 31.

The sensor(s) 11 may include one or more environmental sensors forcollecting and providing data relating to aspects of the environment onboard the aircraft, either locally to the passenger or within the cabinas a whole, such as:

-   -   temperature sensor(s) for sensing the air temperature within the        cabin;    -   lighting sensor(s) for sensing the lighting level within the        cabin;    -   humidity sensor(s) for sensing the humidity within the cabin;    -   pressure sensor(s) for sensing the air pressure within the        cabin;    -   noise sensor(s) for sensing the ambient noise level within the        cabin; and    -   altitude sensor(s) for sensing the travelling altitude of the        cabin, which may be the absolute, true, pressure or density        altitude.

The sensor(s) 11 may also include one or more passenger sensors forcollecting and providing data relating to aspects of the customer onboard the aircraft, which can vary depending on the physiological stateof the customer. The passenger sensors may be wearable by the passenger,separate from the passenger, or included within the passenger's mobiledevice 7, and include sensors such as:

-   -   Body movement sensors, for example using an accelerometer        connected to the passenger, or using a camera;    -   Sleep phase or biorhythm sensors, for example using detected        heart rate, movement, or EEG (electroencephalography);    -   Eye movement sensors, such as the camera or a dedicated eye        tracking device    -   Heart rate or blood pressure sensors;    -   External body temperature sensors;    -   Digital pills or other ingestible sensors, that detect internal        temperature, stomach acidity and other internal properties and        wirelessly relay this information outside the passenger's body

The passenger sensors may also be configured to collect data relating toaspects of the customer before boarding the flight, for example over apredefined period of time preceding a scheduled flight and/or on the daybefore boarding the scheduled flight. The pre-flight collected data canbe stored by the respective passenger sensors and/or provided to thepassenger's mobile device 7, for use in determining and schedulingevents associated with the journey segments as will be described in moredetail below.

The mobile device 7,19 may be a smartphone, tablet, PDA (PersonalDigital Assistant), or a wearable device such as a smart watch, anelectronic wristband, or Google Glass™, etc. FIG. 3 is a schematicdiagram of one such exemplary mobile device 7,19, having a processor 51,memory 53, a display screen 55, user input module 57, a location signalreceiver 59 and communications interface(s) 61. The location signalreceiver 59 may be a GPS based receiver for determining a geolocation ofthe mobile device 7,19. The mobile device 7,19 may also include one ormore of: a microphone 63, one or more sensors 65, one or more sensorinterfaces 67 that connect the mobile device 7, 19 to respective sensors11, a speaker 69 and a camera 71. The travel app 9 and crew app 21 maybe downloaded and installed to the memory 53 of the mobile device 7,19,and may require registration of the user with the server 3 via the app,or secure log-in to the app by an existing registered user with theserver 3.

The server 3 may also be connected to a mobile data network (not shown),for communication with the mobile devices 7,19. However, in practice,the mobile devices 7,19 are typically required to be placed in “flightmode” when the passenger and crew are on board the aircraft, and datacommunication during a flight may be restricted to connections via thein-cabin network(s) 9.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating processing modules 81 of thepassenger's mobile device 7 in the present embodiment. The passenger'smobile device 7 stores a local copy of the passenger's customer data 83and flight data 85 that can be retrieved and processed by the processingmodules 81. One or more of the processing modules 81 may be provided asintegrated components of the passenger's travel app 21, or may beprovided as separate mobile applications linked to the travel app 21.Additionally or alternatively, one or more of the processing modules 81may be configured to receive data from respective modules in the server3 for output by the passenger's travel app 21.

In this embodiment, the passenger's mobile device 7 includes a travelpath module 81-1 for generating a travel path for a passenger having abooked and/or purchased journey, including various booked entities suchas an outbound flight from the passenger's home location to adestination location, a hotel reservation at the destination location, areturn flight, etc. The travel path for the passenger's booked journeymay be an end-to-end plan, consisting of a plurality of journey segmentsfrom a departure point, such as the passenger's home location, to adestination point, such as a boarding gate in the departure airportterminal assigned to the passenger's flight or the location of a hotelbooked in the destination city. The travel path module 51 processes thecustomer and flight data 23,25 to identify and determine the journeysegments, as well as associated timing parameters, such as anticipatedstart time, duration, etc. The travel path module 51 can also determineand schedule predefined events associated with the journey segments,that together define the timeline of scheduled events for the travelpath. The travel path module 51 can also dynamically revise and updatethe travel path and event timeline based on the monitored geographicallocation of the customer together with environmental informationretrieved from a plurality of data sources, for example to take intoaccount identified disruptions to the travel path.

The travel path module 81-1 may generate data for a graphical userinterface (GUI) representation of the travel path. The generated travelpath data may define an interactive graphical representation of thetravel path to be displayed by the travel app 9.

The passenger's mobile device 7 also includes a wellness planner module81-3 for determining and scheduling events associated with the journeysegments, based on a predefined set of rules that combine the customerdata, flight data and sensor data to create a personalised travelexperience for the passenger. As will be described in more detail below,the wellness planning module 81-3 can also schedule predefined eventsassociated with respective journey segments, based on factors such aspassenger preferences, travel itinerary, passenger current physicalstate, etc. For example, the wellness planner module 51 can determine asequence of events and associated scheduling information to assist apassenger with overcoming the effects of jet lag at the destination. Thepredefined events may include sleep, wake, stretch, exercise, eat,drink, stay awake, engage in-flight entertainment, etc. The predefinedevents may be determined for a plurality of journey segments, such as asegment of time before the scheduled flight, a segment of timein-flight, and a segment of time after arrival at the destination.Post-flight events may also be scheduled, such as treatment bookings.

The wellness planner module 81-3 can also dynamically adjust and/orreschedule the events, such as the event order, start time, end time,duration, in response to received sensor input data. For example, thewellness planning module 81-3 can schedule in-flight events relating tooptimal sleeping, eating and exercise patterns to assist withalleviating the passenger's jet lag at the destination. The wellnessplanning module 53 can dynamically adjust the events in response toreceived passenger and environment data from the sensors indicating, forexample, that the passenger is awake, asleep, hungry, nervous, hot,cold, uncomfortable, etc.

As another example, the wellness planner module 51 can determine asequence of events and associated scheduling information to assist apassenger with a personalized and more comfortable in-flight experience.The predefined events may include sleep suggestion, wake-up alarm,personalised sound/audio file output, in-flight exercise programme. Thescheduled events can also include automated commands and/or instructionsto external controllers and output devices. For example, the controlsystem 87 can output:

-   -   cabin crew instructions to the crew mobile device 19 via the        mobile device interface module 55, such as service instructions        to provide water when the passenger is determined to be        dehydrated, to offer a blanket when the detected temperature is        determined to be below a predefined and/or preferred threshold,        or not to disturb or wake up for a scheduled meal based on the        determined sleep phase of the passenger, etc.    -   local temperature control signals to the environment controller        via an environment controller interface module 69, and    -   seat control signals to the seat controller via a seat        controller interface module 67.

The wellness planner module 81-3 can also directly control aspects ofthe passenger's local environment defined by the scheduled events, suchas one or more properties of the passenger seat 31 via a seat controllermodule 81-7 in communication with the seat controller 13 over thein-cabin network 5, and one or more properties of the environment aroundthe passenger via an environment controller module 81-9 in communicationwith the environment controller 15 over the in-cabin network 5.Alternatively, the seat controller module 81-7 and the environmentcontroller module 81-9 may be configured to communicate controlinstructions to the seat controller 13 and the environment controller15, respectively, via the server 3. Optionally, the mobile device 7 caninclude a module to enable the passenger to control, via direct userinput, properties of the passenger seat 31 and/or the environment.

The passenger's mobile device 7 can also include an IFE interface module81-11 for communicating data with the IFE 17 over the in-cabin network5. In another embodiment, the passenger's mobile device 7 can include acockpit simulator module 81-13 for displaying an interactive cockpitsimulator via the passenger's mobile device 7, for example based oninput data from sensors located about the aircraft and non-sensitiveinformation received from the aircraft's cockpit system(s).

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the server 3, illustrating the processingmodules of the server 3 in an alternative embodiment. In thisembodiment, the server 3 includes a control system 87 that retrievescustomer data 23 and flight data 25 for a plurality of registered usersvia respective database interfaces 88,89, and receives sensor data fromsensors 11 via a sensor interface module 90. The control system 87includes a travel path module 91-1 for determining travel paths andassociated scheduled events for the plurality of passengers, based onthe retrieved customer and flight data 23,25 and the received sensordata, and for determining and scheduling predefined events associatedwith the journey segments. The control system 87 also includes awellness planner module 91-3 for processing the data based on specificrequirements of the respective passengers and scheduling predefinedevents for the respective passenger's optimal wellbeing, and forautomatically controlling the respective passenger's local in-flightenvironment according to the scheduled events.

The travel path module 91-1 of the control system 87 can generate datafor the interactive GUI representation of the travel path, for examplebased on scheduling data determined by the wellness planner module 91-3.The generated travel path data is communicated to the travel app 9 onthe passenger's mobile device 7, via a travel app interface module 92.The control system 87 can also output control signals associated withscheduled event actions to the seat controller 13 via a seat controllerinterface 93, to the environment controller 15 via an environmentcontroller interface module 94, and to the IFE unit 17 via an IFE module95. Feedback data and control signals may also be received from the seatcontroller 13, environment controller 15 and IFE unit 17 via therespective modules.

Additionally, the travel app interface module 92 can receive and processdata in response to user input via the travel app 9, for example, tosearch for and retrieve flight data 25, retrieve and/or update customerdata 23, book or purchase a new flight, re-book a flight at a new timeand/or date, etc. Alternatively, the generated travel path data maydefine user-selectable elements of the travel path, associated with thescheduled events for example, for display by the travel app 9 based onone or more predefined travel path GUI templates. As yet a furtheralternative, the generated travel path data may consist of schedulingdata elements in a structured data format, such as XML, CSV, etc.

Wellness Planning and Environment Control

A description has been given above of the components forming part of thetravel environment system 1 in one embodiment. A detailed description ofthe operation of these components will now be given with reference tothe flow diagram of FIG. 6, which comprises FIGS. 6A and 6B, for anexample computer-implemented wellness planning and environment controlprocess using the passenger's mobile device 7. Reference is also made toFIGS. 7 and 8, schematically illustrating exemplary dynamic travel pathsdisplayed by the travel app 9 on the passenger's mobile device 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, the process begins at step S6-1 where thepassenger's mobile device 7 loads the travel app 9, for example inresponse to a user command to launch the app. The travel app 9 mayrequire the customer to login with pre-registered details. At step S6-3,the travel path module 81-1 on the mobile device 7 retrieves customerdata 23 for the customer registered with the travel app 9, for examplein response to a user command to display an interactive travel planinterface via the travel app 9. The retrieved customer data 23 includesinformation relating to the passenger's next booked journey, such asdetails of the outbound and return flights that are booked for thejourney.

In this embodiment, the mobile device 7 is configured to plan andgenerate a travel path for the passenger's booked journey that can bedisplayed in an interactive travel path interface of the travel app 9.Accordingly, at step S6-5 in FIG. 6, the travel path module 81-1retrieves flight data 25 including information relating to thepassenger's next flight in the retrieved booked journey. The travel pathmodule 81-1 may also retrieve data from additional sources, such asterminal information relating to the departure and arrival airportterminals of the passenger's next flight. At step S6-7, the travel pathmodule 51 processes the retrieved data and determines a plurality ofjourney segments for the booked journey. For example, a booked journeybetween departure and destination locations can be processed into aplurality of high level journey segments, based on information relatingto the outbound and return flights, such as time and date, flightnumber, carrier, airport, etc. At step S6-9, the travel app 9 displaysan initial view of the interactive travel plan, including the retrievedinformation relating to the passenger's next booked journey.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates one example of an initial view of theinteractive travel path displayed by the travel app 9 on the passenger'smobile device 7. The high level segments of this initial view include aplurality of in-flight segments 107 corresponding to discrete timeperiods when the customer is on-board a respective booked flight, andintervening ground segments 109 corresponding to discrete time periodsbetween booked flights. In this example, the travel path is presented asa scrollable ribbon interface 101, with a horizontal dynamic time axis103 indicating the location along the ribbon corresponding to thecurrent time 105. The ribbon interface 101 may instead be displayed in avertical orientation. In this example, the customer data 23 includesinformation relating to a booked journey to Malibu, Calif., with anoutbound flight departing today from London's Heathrow Airport andarriving at Los Angeles International Airport, displayed as a firstraised segment 107-1 of the ribbon interface 101. The customer data 23also includes information relating to the return flight in six weekstime, displayed as a second raised segment 107-2, with a correspondingindication on the time axis 103.

The booked journey may also include details of a hotel reservation whilethe customer is at the destination, displayed as a lower segment 109-2between the respective raised segments 107-1, 107-2. Similarly, a lowersegment 109-1 precedes the raised segment 107-1 associated with theoutbound flight, indicating that the customer was at a predefined homelocation, London, UK in this example. In this embodiment, the raisedsegments 107 correspond to in-flight segments of the passenger's bookedjourney and the lower segments 109 correspond to ground segments of thejourney. The user can scroll the ribbon interface 101 along thehorizontal axis, for example via user input 37, to view the passenger'spast and future booked journeys. As described later, each raised segment107 of the ribbon interface 101 may be a user-selectable element of theinterface in order to retrieve and view more data relating to theassociated flight. Alternatively or additionally, the ribbon interface101 may be configured to process user input commands to zoom into thetravel path at a selected position to retrieve and view more datarelating to the segment 107,109 at that position, and to zoom out toreturn to the previous or initial view. Following from the exampleillustrated in FIG. 7,

The travel path module 51 can also processes each high level journeysegment to determine a respective plurality of lower level journeysegments, and to identify one or more defined and/or anticipatedgeographical locations associated with each lower level journey segment.FIG. 8, which consists of FIGS. 8A and 8B, schematically illustrates anexample of a zoomed-in view of the interactive travel path displayed bythe travel app 9. In this example, a first high level ground segment109-2, prior to the passenger's outbound flight segment 107-1 fromLondon to Los Angeles, is broken down into three discrete and sequentiallower level segments 111, as illustrated in the first portion 101 a ofthe ribbon interface in FIG. 7A. The first lower level segment 111-1 isassociated with a discrete time period of the travel path when thecustomer is at a predefined home location, for example the passenger'shome city or home address. The second lower level segment 111-2 isassociated with the subsequent time period of the travel path when thecustomer is, or should be, travelling to the departure airport terminal.The third lower level segment 111-3 is associated with the subsequenttime period of the travel path when the customer is in the airportterminal.

Similarly, the high level ground segment 109-2 after the passenger'soutbound flight segment 107-1 from London to Los Angeles is also brokendown into three lower level segments 113, as illustrated in the secondportion 101 b of the ribbon interface in FIG. 7B. However, in thisground segment, the first lower level segment 113-1 is associated withthe time period of the travel path when the customer is in thedestination airport terminal, the second lower level segment 113-2 isassociated with the subsequent time period when the customer will betravelling to the hotel in the destination city, and the third lowerlevel segment 113-3 is associated with the subsequent time period whenthe customer arrives at the hotel. Each journey segment is associatedwith a respective time or time period along the time axis 103, which maybe calculated relative to the current time 105, based on the retrievedand processed data.

The travel path module 51 can also determine one or more events forrespective journey segments. Each event is also associated with a timeor time period along the time axis 103, which may be calculated relativeto the current time 105, based on the retrieved data. For example, asillustrated in FIG. 8, which comprises FIGS. 8A and 8B, the in-flightsegment 107-1 includes a sequence of predefined events 121 that arescheduled at respective times during the flight, such as a welcome drinkevent 121-1 shortly after boarding or take-off, a first dining event121-2, a sleep event 121-3, a wake event 121-4, an IFE event 121-5 afterthe passenger has woken up, and a second dining event 121-6.

Events 115 can also be determined for the ground segments 109. Forexample, the first lower level segment 111-1 of the first ground segment109-1 includes an event 115-1 associated with an earliest possibleand/or recommended time for the customer to proceed with online check-infor the outbound flight. The second lower level segment 111-2 of thefirst ground segment 109-1 includes an event 115-2 associated with arecommended route to the departure airport terminal, for example asdetermined by the travel path module 51 or by the travel app 9 based onthe passenger's current geo-location 29. The third lower level segment111-3 of the first ground segment 109-1 includes one or more events115-3 associated with respective navigation stages that the customermust progress through the departure airport terminal, such as bag drop,passport control and security, before arriving at the departure gateassigned to the outbound flight.

Similarly, a plurality of events 115 are determined for the secondground segment 109-2. The first lower level segment 113-1 of the secondground segment 109-2 includes one or more events 115-4 associated withrespective stages that the customer must progress through the arrivalairport terminal, such as the arrival gate assigned to the flight,passport control and the baggage reclaim belt or area assigned to theflight. The second lower level segment 113-2 of the second groundsegment 109-2 includes an event 115-5 associated with a recommendedroute from the arrival airport terminal to the hotel at the destination.The third lower level segment 113-3 of the second ground segment 109-2includes an event 115-6 associated with an anticipated time of check-inat the hotel, for example as calculated by the travel path module 81-1.

Accordingly, referring back to FIG. 6, at step S6-11 the travel pathmodule 51 can retrieve data from one or more third-party data sources,such as traffic, public transport, weather and airport terminal data,and process the retrieved data to determine and schedule the pluralityof predefined events for the ground segments 109 of the passenger'sjourney. The determination of events that can be scheduled for thepassenger's journey may depend on the availability of data from thethird-party data sources for the geographical locations along the travelpath.

At step S6-13, the wellness planner module 81-3 retrieves passenger andflight details from customer data 83 and flight data 85, such asinformation relating to the passenger's registered details and personalpreferences, travel itinerary, meal schedule, cabin lighting schedule,etc. At step S6-15, the wellness planner module 81-3 receives sensordata from one or more sensors 11 via the sensor interface module 81-5.The received sensor data will vary depending on the availability ofsensors associated with the passenger and/or passenger's localenvironment. At step S6-17, the wellness planner module 81-3 determinesand schedules one or more predefined events for the in-flight journeysegment 107-1, based on the retrieved passenger details from customerdata 83, flight details from flight data 85, and the received sensordata.

At step S6-19, the wellness planner module 81-3 identifies events thatare associated with one or more predefined actions, and generatesauxiliary data for the identified events that can be displayed ortransmitted by the travel app 9 in response to a user command to selectthe respective event 115,121 from the ribbon interface 101 a. Forexample, auxiliary data can be generated for the sleep event 121-3illustrated in FIG. 8A, defining control instructions that aretransmitted to the seat controller 13 to recline the seat to a sleepingposition, as well as control instructions that are transmitted to theenvironment controller 15 to dim the lights, in response to user inputselection of the event 121-3 from the interactive display. As anotherexample, auxiliary data can be generated to suggest and guide thepassenger through one or more exercise routines, based on sensor inputfeedback relating to the passenger's body movements and heart rate.

Table 1 sets out a number of exemplary data and sensor input parametersthat may be processed by the wellness planner module 81-3 to determineand schedule one or more respective event outputs. It will beappreciated that many other combinations of predefined data inputs,environment sensor data inputs, and changeable passenger sensor datainputs due to physiological states, can be used to determine and triggersystem responses and events.

TABLE 1 Predefined Data Environment Sensor Passenger Sensor Input(s)Input(s) Input(s) Event Output(s) Biometric data, travel Body movements,Sleep/wake event, seat itinerary, personal heart rate control, lightingpreferences control Biometric data, Body movements Seat control personalpreferences Biometric data, meal Cabin lighting, Body movements, Wakesuggestion schedule Ambient noise, local heart rate event, seat control,temperature lighting control Biometric data, meal Local temperature Bodymovements, Drink/Meal suggestion schedule heart rate event, cabin crewinstructions Biometric data, Local temperature, Air conditioningpersonal preferences humidity, cabin control pressure Biometric data,travel Air pressure, Altitude Body movements, Exercise itinerary,personal heart rate suggestion/routine preferences event Biometric data,travel Ambient temperature Body temperature, Post-flight treatmentitinerary, personal stomach acidity booking, sleep/meal preferencesmanagement suggestion events

For example, a passenger's mobile device 7, such as a smart watch with atemperature sensor, may transmit data identifying the passenger'srecorded body temperature to a processing node, such as the server 3 ora cabin crew's mobile device 19, via the in-flight network 5. Theprocessing node may then determine a temperature adjustment for thatpassenger based on the received temperature data, and in response,transmit control instructions to the cabin environment controller 15 toeffect a change of environment temperature automatically. Alternatively,the crew app 21 on the crew mobile device 19 may prompt the cabin crewto manually adjust the temperature controls based on the calculatedneeds of passenger. The processing node may instead, or additionally, beconfigured to receive temperature data generated from a plurality ofpassenger devices and sensors located in a particular cabin, along withinput data from the associated passengers indicative of a vote on thedesired cabin temperature, and to determine environment temperatureadjustments based on the group of passenger votes. The passenger mayalso be informed of the changes to the travel environment and anaggregate body temperate, for example via data received and displayed bytheir associated mobile device 7 and/or the IFE unit 17.

As another example, the passenger's mobile device 7 is monitoring his orher biorhythms, and the system 1 may use data received from thepassenger's mobile device 7 to detect or determine when the passenger isabout to sleep or wake, and in response, to send control instructions toadjust the lighting around the passenger, as well as inform a crewmember to prepare a beverage service for when the passenger awakes ornot to disturb the passenger when asleep. Additionally, the system 1 maybe configured to detect the passenger's emotional and physical state,and in response, determine event output(s) and indicate to the cabincrew to attend to a nervous or stressed passenger's needs appropriately.

As those skilled in the art will appreciate, the system may be furtherconfigured to retrieve and process historical data associated with thepassenger, travel environment, and/or journey. For example, the servercan be configured to retrieve recorded sensor and/or user input datathat has been previously collected, outside of the travel environment,and stored on the passenger's mobile device or accessible from a remoteserver via an API. The received historical data may then used along withsensor data collected within the travel environment to make an optimaldecision of one or more changes to the environment based on thepassenger's detected or determined wellness. For example, historicaldata associated with the passenger, such as previous geo-locations andhealth data collected by the passenger's mobile device over a period oftime, may be retrieved and processed by the server, together withreceived real-time sensor inputs, in order to determine or modify apersonalised programme or event schedule to aid with combating travelfatigue.

The travel path module 81-1 can also be configured to generate auxiliarydata for events associated with the ground segments 109, such asinformation relating to specific navigation, routing and timing, forexample to and within the airport terminal. As yet another example,auxiliary data may include a link to a website or an external mobileapp, such as a flight online check-in website, a hotel website or appwith information relating to the hotel reservation, a public transportwebsite or app with additional route, time and map information, adedicated map website or app, etc.

At step S6-21, the travel app 9 displays the detailed view of thegenerated travel path for the current journey in the interactive userinterface, including the user-selectable events 115,121 associated withthe journey segments 111,113 of the travel path. At step S6-23, thetravel app 9 receives and processes user interactions with the travelpath interface 101 and user-selectable events 115,121 of the interface,for example to handle user commands to scroll and/or zoom the displayedportion of the travel path, and in response, retrieves and executes theone or more actions associated with a user selected event 115,121, atstep S6-25 as necessary. At step S6-27, the travel app 9 also monitorsthe scheduled events 115,121 to identify events that are scheduled foraction at the current time, and automatically retrieves and executes theone or more actions associated with any identified scheduled event115,121, at step S6-29 as necessary.

In this embodiment, the system is also configured to dynamically adjustthe travel path and scheduled events in response to received sensordata. For example, the wellness planner module 81-3 can receive, at stepS6-31, information from sensors 11 relating to an increased heart rate,indicative of the passenger waking up from a sleep cycle before thescheduled wake event. In response, the wellness planner module 81-3determines and reschedules one or more affected events 121 for thein-flight segment 107 of the passenger's booked journey, at step S6-33as necessary. Following from the example of the passenger waking upearly, the affected events 121 can include the wake event 121-4 and theIFE event 121-5 that are brought forward along the timeline, byadjustment of the respective timing parameters. In this way, thepassenger can be prompted to accept the wake event 121-4, and inresponse, the system can automatically adjust the passenger's seat 31,lighting 43 and air-conditioning 45 based on the passenger'spreferences. Additionally, the wellness planner module 81-3 candetermine one or more new events 121 to be inserted into the eventtimeline, such as suggested refreshments that can be ordered by thepassenger and automatically transmitted to the crew app 21.

At step S6-35, the wellness planner module 81-3 updates the travel pathand associated scheduling data based on the identified and rescheduledevents 121. At step S6-37, the wellness planner module 81-3 generates orupdates auxiliary data for any new and affected events, for exampleincluding options for the passenger to override the automaticallyrescheduled event. At step S6-39, the travel app 9 displays the updatedtravel path and the process returns to step S6-23 where the travel app 9continues to monitor and respond to user interactions, sensor inputsand/or further scheduled events.

Computer System

The system described herein may comprise a computer system 600 as shownin FIG. 11. Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented asprogrammable code for execution by the computer system 600. Variousembodiments of the invention are described in terms of this examplecomputer system 600. After reading this description, it will becomeapparent to a person skilled in the art how to implement the inventionusing other computer systems and/or computer architectures.

Computer system 600 includes one or more processors, such as processor604. Processor 604 may be any type of processor, including but notlimited to a special purpose or a general-purpose digital signalprocessor. Processor 604 is connected to a communication infrastructure606 (for example, a bus or network). Computer system 600 also includes amain memory 608, preferably random access memory (RAM), and may alsoinclude a secondary memory 610. Secondary memory 610 may include, forexample, a hard disk drive 612 and/or a removable storage drive 614,representing a floppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, an optical diskdrive, etc. Removable storage drive 614 reads from and/or writes to aremovable storage unit 618 in a well-known manner. Removable storageunit 618 represents a floppy disk, magnetic tape, optical disk, etc.,which is read by and written to by removable storage drive 614. As willbe appreciated, removable storage unit 618 includes a computer usablestorage medium having stored therein computer software and/or data.

In alternative implementations, secondary memory 610 may include othersimilar means for allowing computer programs or other instructions to beloaded into computer system 600. Such means may include, for example, aremovable storage unit 622 and an interface 620. Examples of such meansmay include a program cartridge and cartridge interface (such as thatpreviously found in video game devices), a removable memory chip (suchas an EPROM, or PROM, or flash memory) and associated socket, and otherremovable storage units 622 and interfaces 620 which allow software anddata to be transferred from removable storage unit 622 to computersystem 600. Alternatively, the program may be executed and/or the dataaccessed from the removable storage unit 622, using the processor 604 ofthe computer system 600.

Computer system 600 may also include a communication interface 624.Communication interface 624 allows software and data to be transferredbetween computer system 600 and external devices. Examples ofcommunication interface 624 may include a modem, a network interface(such as an Ethernet card), a communication port, a Personal ComputerMemory Card International Association (PCMCIA) slot and card, etc.Software and data transferred via communication interface 624 are in theform of signals 628, which may be electronic, electromagnetic, optical,or other signals capable of being received by communication interface624. These signals 628 are provided to communication interface 624 via acommunication path 626. Communication path 626 carries signals 628 andmay be implemented using wire or cable, fibre optics, a phone line, awireless link, a cellular phone link, a radio frequency link, or anyother suitable communication channel. For instance, communication path626 may be implemented using a combination of channels.

The terms “computer program medium” and “computer usable medium” areused generally to refer to media such as removable storage drive 614, ahard disk installed in hard disk drive 612, and signals 628. Thesecomputer program products are means for providing software to computersystem 600. However, these terms may also include signals (such aselectrical, optical or electromagnetic signals) that embody the computerprogram disclosed herein.

Computer programs (also called computer control logic) are stored inmain memory 608 and/or secondary memory 610. Computer programs may alsobe received via communication interface 624. Such computer programs,when executed, enable computer system 600 to implement the presentinvention as discussed herein. Accordingly, such computer programsrepresent controllers of computer system 600. Where the invention isimplemented using software, the software may be stored in a computerprogram product and loaded into computer system 600 using removablestorage drive 614, hard disk drive 612, or communication interface 624,to provide some examples.

In alternative embodiments, the invention can be implemented as controllogic in hardware, firmware, or software or any combination thereof. Theapparatus may be implemented by dedicated hardware, such as one or moreapplication-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) or appropriatelyconnected discrete logic gates. A suitable hardware description languagecan be used to implement the method described herein with dedicatedhardware.

Alternative Embodiments

The embodiments described above are illustrative of rather than limitingto the present invention. Alternative embodiments apparent on readingthe above description may nevertheless fall within the scope of theinvention.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the server determinesthe travel path and associated scheduling data for display by the travelapp. It will be appreciated that in an alternative embodiment, some ofthe processing steps performed by the travel path generator moduleand/or the planning sub-module in the above embodiment can instead oradditionally be performed by the processing modules of the passenger'stravel app. For example, the dynamic travel path module on the mobiledevice can be configured to generate data identifying the sequence ofjourney segments and associated events and to determine schedulinginformation relating to estimations of timing and duration. In thisalternative, the mobile device would not need to communicate with theserver in order to monitor the passenger and environment input data,dynamically adjust the travel path, and/or control the localenvironment. As yet a further alternative, the server may not include atravel path module and wellness planner module.

In the embodiment described above, the travel path is displayed by thetravel app on the passenger's mobile device. In an alternativeembodiment, the travel path and scheduling data may be automaticallytransmitted to the passenger's IFE unit.

In the embodiment described above, a server is configured to determinetravel paths and associated scheduled events for the plurality ofpassengers, based on retrieved customer and travel data and the receivedsensor data, and to determine, schedule and control predefined eventsassociated with the journey segments. As those skilled in the art willappreciate, one or more nodes of the in-cabin network may instead beconfigured to carry out the functionalities described in the aboveembodiment for dynamic travel event scheduling based on determinedpassenger wellness. For example, the cabin crew mobile devices may beconfigured as distributed, or peer-to-peer (P2P), computing nodes thatcommunicate and coordinate actions by passing data messages over thein-cabin network. The cabin crew mobile devices may receive environmentand passenger sensor input data from sensors and device nodes on thenetwork, and transmit control instructions to seat and environmentcontroller nodes on the network.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for dynamic travel event scheduling,comprising one or more processors configured to: retrieve stored dataincluding information relating to a passenger's itinerary, the itineraryincluding at least one scheduled journey; generate data defining adynamic event schedule based on the retrieved data, the dynamic eventschedule including at least one event associated with at least oneaction output; and during the at least one scheduled journey: receiveone or more sensor inputs providing information on the physiologicalstate of the passenger and/or environmental conditions in the vicinityof the passenger; identify one or more affected events of the dynamicevent schedule based on the received sensor inputs; and provide one ormore action outputs to control the passenger's travel environment basedon the at least one event.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the outputsto control the passenger's travel environment comprise one or more ofsignals to: control one or more properties of a passenger seat, andcontrol lighting and/or air conditioning above and/or around thepassenger's seat.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least oneevent is selected from a set of predefined events including: sleep,wake, stretch, exercise, eat, drink, stay awake, and engage in-flightentertainment.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sleep and wakeevents are associated with respective action outputs to automaticallycontrol a recline position of the passenger's seat and a lighting levelabove or around the passenger's seat.
 5. The system of claim 1, whereineach scheduled events is associated with a respective timing parameterand wherein the system is further operable to update the travel pathdata by adjusting respective timing parameters of the one or moreaffected events.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the retrieved datafurther includes information relating to at least one of the passenger'spersonal preferences, an in-flight meal schedule, and an automated cabinlighting schedule.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the generating datadefining a dynamic event schedule is further operable to generateauxiliary data for an event defining the associated action output. 8.The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to determine a new event for the dynamic event schedule basedon the received sensor inputs.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the oneor more processors are further configured to output the travel path dataas an interactive interface.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein thesensor inputs providing information on the environmental conditions inthe vicinity of the passenger are received from one or more of:temperature sensor(s), lighting sensor(s), humidity sensor(s), noisesensor(s), and altitude sensor(s).
 11. The system of claim 1, whereinthe sensor inputs providing information on the physiological state ofthe passenger are received from one or more of: a body movement sensor,a sleep phase sensor, an eye movement sensor, a heart rate sensor, abody temperature sensor and an ingestible sensor.
 12. A method ofdynamic travel event scheduling, comprising: retrieving stored dataincluding information relating to a passenger's itinerary, the itineraryincluding at least one scheduled journey; generating data defining adynamic event schedule based on the retrieved data, the dynamic eventschedule including at least one event associated with at least oneaction output; and during the at least one scheduled journey: receivingone or more sensor inputs providing information on the physiologicalstate of the passenger and/or environmental conditions in the vicinityof the passenger; identifying one or more affected events of the dynamicevent schedule based on the received sensor inputs; and providing one ormore action outputs to control the passenger's travel environment basedon the at least one event.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein theoutputs to control the passenger's travel environment comprise one ormore of signals to: control one or more properties of a passenger seat,and control lighting and/or air conditioning above and/or around thepassenger's seat.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least oneevent is selected from a set of predefined events including: sleep,wake, stretch, exercise, eat, drink, stay awake, and engage in-flightentertainment.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the sleep and wakeevents are associated with respective action outputs to automaticallycontrol a recline position of the passenger's seat and a lighting levelabove or around the passenger's seat.
 16. The method of claim 12,wherein each scheduled events is associated with a respective timingparameter and wherein the system is further operable to update thetravel path data by adjusting respective timing parameters of the one ormore affected events.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the retrieveddata further includes information relating to at least one of thepassenger's personal preferences, an in-flight meal schedule, and anautomated cabin lighting schedule.
 18. The method of claim 12, whereinthe generating data defining a dynamic event schedule is furtheroperable to generate auxiliary data for an event defining the associatedaction output.
 19. The method of claim 12, further comprisingdetermining a new event for the dynamic event schedule based on thereceived sensor inputs.
 20. The method of claim 12, further comprisingoutputting the travel path data as an interactive interface.
 21. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the sensor inputs providing information onthe environmental conditions in the vicinity of the passenger arereceived from one or more of: temperature sensor(s), lighting sensor(s),humidity sensor(s), noise sensor(s), and altitude sensor(s).
 22. Themethod of claim 12, wherein the sensor inputs providing information onthe physiological state of the passenger are received from one or moreof: a body movement sensor, a sleep phase sensor, an eye movementsensor, a heart rate sensor, a body temperature sensor and an ingestiblesensor.
 23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising machineexecutable instructions stored thereon that when executed perform amethod in accordance with claim 10.